John Wesley Hunt

Who was John Wesley Hunt?

John Wesley Hunt was a prominent businessman and early civic leader in Lexington, Kentucky. He was one of the first millionaires west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Moving to Lexington in 1795, Hunt became a merchant, horsebreeder, hemp manufacturer, and banker. In 1799, President John Adams named Hunt as postmaster of Lexington. In 1814, Hunt built a two-story brick mansion known as "Hopemont" for him and his wife Catherine. His son Charlton Hunt became the first mayor of Lexington. In the winter of 1839-1840, Hunt introduced the Messenger strain to Kentucky.

John Wesley Hunt's grandson, John Hunt Morgan, was a famous Confederate general during the American Civil War. A great-grandson, Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan, was the first Kentuckian to win a Nobel Prize.

Hunt is buried in the family plot in the Lexington Cemetery.